Tackling F1 Venues - Part 1 (Tackle)

Understanding F1's

Many of us are happy catching F1's on commercials which is great but for those who have little or no access to the species we will be compiling tips each month leading up to the event to helps these anglers out. We hope it will make understanding these species and the approaches required to make the most of your swim on the day so we all go home happy that every angler has caught plenty, ultimately helping their team to the win.

1. Elastic choice is important, regardless of brand its size that's the most crucial part, you need a nice soft elastic that powers up enough not to bump or disturb the swim. Solid and hollows both work perfectly and sizes such as a single No8 or 8-10 Hollow, but don't be afraid to drop to a double 5 or 6-8 hollow if needed. Big heavy elastics will catch you fish but lighter is the better way to go.

2. Lines are important too and again lighter is better for these shy biting fish until you come to up in the water (I'll explain later). Mainlines for fishing on the bottom or just off such as 0.14mm (5.6lb) teemed with hooklengths in sizes 0.12mm (3.7lbs) or even down to 0.10mm (2.25lbs) if struggling for bites will catch you plenty and are more than strong enough at Tunnel Barn Farm. Where this differs is when fishing shallow and by using a thicker mainline 0.16mm (6.7lbs) or 0.18mm (8.5lbs) will help to reduce tangles if slapping baits such as maggot or pellet and keeps the line nice and straight, but hooklengths its best to use the same sizes of 0.12-0.10mm. It may seem odd to have such a gap and contradicting using lighter lines on the bottom but when fish feed up in the water, they have a tendency to snatch at a bait rather than take the time to investigate it so not noticing your rig.

3. Floats are a very personal choice and vary in patterns, their are 4 patterns you can't go far wrong with for targetting F1's. 
- Rounded/Pear shaped Body - Teemed with a 1.5mm hollow tip and strong wire stem these are perfect for fishing on the bottom or just off in normal conditions with all baits, they are the most suited when conditions are not favourable as the stem provides great stability and the tip holds well to show bites. Floats such as the Dino Chi-Chi or Drennan AS1 are very popular choices.

- Slim Body - Slim patterned floats are perfect when bites are hard to come by or when they are shy biting and the float needs dotting right down to be able to see the slightest movement. Good choices like Dino Gino or Preston's ever faithful Chianti come with a carbon stem and either a hollow bristle or cane tip both of which are great when sensitivity is required.

- Dibber Style Float - There is one float perfect for up in the water and has been a huge hit in 2015, Drennan's Crystal Dibber. It's made using clear blow moulded plastic making it harder for fish to see in the water, its very durable making it suited to slapping or constant lifting and dropping, it can be used with all baits from maggots through to meat.

- Small Rounded Diamond - Floats such as Dino F1 or Andy Bennetts Rounded pattern are great for fishing tight up against far bank features in depths around 12-18". They come with either 1.2mm or 1.5mm hollow tips and are small enough not to cause disturbance but provide enough stability if their a plenty of feeding fish which could cause line bites.

4. Hooks - Again patterns and brands are personal choice, for the time of year the event is held a size 16 would be a good starting point even when using a banded bait such as 4mm pellets or maggots. Their is no need to go with heavy guage hooks for F1's but one that has a good sized gape and slightly in-turned is ideal, patterns such as Kamasan B911 or B911F1's suit commercial fisheries and F1's in particular.

5. Shotting patterns - Their are 2 main shotting patterns required for F1 fishing Bulk & Spread Out, each will be required throughout the session and work differently between baits. When fishing pellets a small bulk with droppers works particularly well when fishing with pellet on the bottom to get the bait down but then the last 12-18" falls slowly enticing bites (lifting and dropping works really well with this pattern). If fishing maggots a spread out shotting pattern works much better than a bulk as the bait looks more natural when falling through the water.